Context: Tradition and cultural norms pertaining to fixed gender roles (men as breadwinners and women as housewives) are still prevalent across Japanese society. Despite equal-opportunity laws, gender equality is rarely achieved, especially in the case of local companies. Among other developed countries, Japan has one of the lowest female workforce participation rates, and only a marginal fraction of women hold decision-making positions. Over the last few decades, there have been positive developments; however, young women in Japan still face many challenges. For instance, they are frequently paid lower wages than their male counterparts, have less access to career opportunities and have more difficulty climbing the corporate ladder, in particular if they have children.
Implementation of programme/ initiative: In 2013, the TOMODACHI initiative, in partnership with the Embassy of the United States, Tokyo, launched the TOMODACHI MetLife Women’s Leadership Program (TMWLP). The main objective of TMWLP is to foster the empowerment of young women in Japan. The programme aims to do this by increasing diversity, promoting female workforce participation and nurturing future female leaders in Japan. Since 2013, over ten-month periods, TMWLP has continued to pair female university students with female mentors in mid-career and facilitated one-to-one meetings in order to develop and strengthen the rapports between them. In doing so, young Japanese women have been provided with an effective networking space, inspiring role models and the self-belief that they can grow into future global leaders. The programme has also been giving its participants the opportunity to travel abroad and attend seminars led by global leaders and government officials. TMWLP has been providing its participants with first-hand experience and insight into working in positions of leadership.
Main challenges: While the programme still endeavours to enhance and empower young women to become high-achieving individuals, a strong command of the English language in addition to a strong educational background is an essential prerequisite to join the programme. This criterion unfortunately limits the participation to those from a highly educated background, meaning that it is still very difficult for this programme to reach more vulnerable members of society.
Results achieved: The programme having been a great success for the past six years, is now approaching its seventh. To date, a total of 538 young women, consisting of 269 students and 269 professionals have participated in TMWLP. Participants have been able to develop leadership skills, self-confidence and self-awareness, and establish global networks to support them in their journeys towards careers in leadership. Participants and alumni alike note that, thanks to the programme, they now have more ambition and a much clearer outlook on their future career prospects.
Moving Forward: By 2020, TMWLP plans on engaging approximately 750 young women, providing them with greater empowerment and professional development opportunities. With the launching of the Alumni Community, TMWLP plans to further extend its support to alumni by allowing them to broaden their professional network while growing and building on their experience. The programme should continue to secure more funding and expand the initiative into other companies to have a more comprehensive impact.
Replicability: In terms of replicability, future initiatives can learn from the successes of TMWLP by focusing on developing strong mentor-mentee relationships, as this is essential in ensuring that participants feel confident, empowered and take full advantage of the opportunities available to them. It is also essential that mentors are held accountable to ensure that they provide adequate assistance, support and insight to guarantee that the learning process is smooth and enjoyable for the mentee.
Acknowledgement:
This good practice was kindly prepared by Ms. Megan Sim Wan Qi.
References:
https://www.grin.com/document/135192
http://usjapantomodachi.org/2019/05/27703/
https://americancenterjapan.com/event/201906246529/
https://www.soka.ac.jp/en/_tag/2019/05/10304/
Project Details
Date: October 21, 2019